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The Inaugural DSW - Designer
Shoe Warehouse
LP Collaboration Meeting

In January, Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) hosted its
inaugural Loss Prevention Collaboration Meeting at Elite
Investigation’s Headquarters in New York City. The companies that
were represented included Limited Brands, Gap, Old Navy, TJX,
Aeropostale, Burlington Coats, Joe Fresh, Bed Bath and Beyond,
Modell’s Sporting Goods and DSW. Guest speakers included a Special
Agent from The United States Secret Service and a Sergeant from the
NYPD’s Grand Larceny Taskforce. The focus of the meeting was to
discuss current trends within the field of loss prevention and gain
law enforcement insight. Topics included counterfeit and ORC
identifications techniques as well as building partnership between
retailers and law enforcement. The meeting was a success and the
next DSW Loss Prevention Collaboration Meeting is scheduled for May
2014. For additional information regarding the upcoming meeting
please contact Chip Chiappetta, DSW Northeast Regional Loss
Prevention Manager at
ChipChiappetta@DSWInc.com.

Employee arrested in UK's, 4th biggest grocer - Morrison's payroll data theft of
thousands of employees West Yorkshire Police said it arrested a man
today on suspicion of making or supplying an article for use in fraud. The theft
involved information including bank account details and was published on a
website. The theft was seen as a fresh blow to Morrisons, especially as it came
a day after Britain's fourth biggest supermarket tumbled to a 176 million pounds
annual loss and issued a profits warning, sending shares down by 12%. The
company said the data theft affected staff from all levels of the organization
including the board. The supermarket said in a statement last week that the data
was also sent on a disc to a newspaper. In a company statement it said: "We can
confirm there has been no loss of customer data and no colleague will be left
financially disadvantaged." (Source
buckinghamtoday.co.uk)

IBC joins forces with Canadian Trucking Alliance and law enforcement
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) are
joining forces, supported by four large Ontario police services, to launch a
national program to fight cargo theft. The rapidly escalating crime is costing
Canadians up to $5 billion a year and is a significant problem in transportation
hubs in southern Ontario, and in Vancouver and Montreal. IBC and CTA will expand
the current Cargo Theft Reporting pilot program, which is now in Ontario and
Quebec, across Canada, so that the trucking community, insurers and the
authorities can better share timely information to help crack down on cargo
theft. All insurers in Canada and trucking association members can now report
cargo thefts directly to IBC via an online submission form. IBC will act as a
clearing house for cargo theft data, and will collect, analyze and promptly
share information with a national network of law enforcement partners including
Canadian and American border agencies. Law enforcement can ask IBC to search the
database to help identify property and to speed its recovery.
(Source
digitaljournal.com)

Wal-Mart quietly debuting its new convenience store format March 15th - watch
out 7-Eleven This 2,500 sq. ft. in their hometown with cashiers
located in the center of the store offers standard convenience goods such as
tobacco products, magazines and an ATM, along with a flower stand and Hallmark
cards. One side of the store is designed to be a mini-grocery that occupies five
aisles and offers packaged food and non-edible items such as diapers, according
to the report. Outside, a covered awning connects the front door to the gas
station area, which features six fuel pumps. Editors note: Super stores,
discount stores, neighborhood markets (with pharmacy) and now c-stores with gas.
They've covered the entire retail gambit. (Source
csnews.com)

Court approves first-of-its-kind data breach settlement - Co. responsible for
security on stolen laptops - could be landmark case Courts have
generally tended to dismiss consumer class-action lawsuits filed against
companies that suffer data breaches if victims can't show that the the breach
directly caused a financial hit. A federal court in Florida broke the mold by
approving a $3 million settlement for victims of a data breach in which personal
health information was exposed when multiple laptops containing the unencrypted
data were stolen. The Dec. 2009 theft of laptops belonging to AvMed, a
Florida-based health insurer, exposed the patient records of tens of thousands
of its customers. Several victimes later filed a putative class action lawsuit
against AvMed. The plaintiffs suffered no direct losses or identity theft from
the breach but nevertheless accused AvMed of negligence, breach of contract,
breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. Under the agreement, $30 of each
breach victim's insurance premiums over the past three years will be reimbursed.
The plaintiffs contended that AvMed should have been spending $30 per users to
bolster its data security controls. Under the agreement, AvMed has also agreed
to pay actual damages to anyone whose identity was stolen as a result of the
breach. In addition the company agreed to implement new password protocols and
install disk encryption and GPS tracking tools on its laptops. The settlement is
believed to be the first in which victims of a data breach are compensated
without having to show they suffered any losses from the theft of their personal
data. (Source
csoonline.com)

Carol Leaman, CEO of Axonify, sits down with
Lisa LaBruno, Senior Vice President of Retail Operations for the Retail Industry
Leaders Association, to discuss the major challenges retail Loss Prevention
programs face and how effective training can help mitigate those risks. Lisa
describes the four areas of training associated with LP apprehensions, including
the specific components of a successful training program. Watch the interview
here.

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Insight: Mind your wallet - why the underworld loves bitcoin
Criminals may already have made off with up to $500 million worth of bitcoins
since the virtual currency launched in 2009. Internet criminals, security
experts say, are attracted to bitcoin because of its stratospheric rise in
value, because it's easier to steal than real money, and because it's easier to
trade with other criminal elements. But, they add, bitcoin will survive the
damage. The fall of Mt Gox, the Tokyo-based exchange which filed for bankruptcy
last month after saying it lost some 850,000 bitcoins to hackers, is certainly
the virtual currency's biggest crisis. But data collated by Reuters from
specialist bitcoin industry websites and internet forums shows that more than
730,000 bitcoins were already missing to theft, hacking, cyber-ransom payments
and other apparently criminal pursuits before Mt. Gox's collapse. A study by Pat Litke and Joe Stewart of Dell
SecureWorks showed that as the price of bitcoin soared beyond $1,000 last year,
so did the number of viruses designed to steal bitcoins from wallets - programs
that hold bitcoins on user's computers or smartphones. Cyber-criminals have also made use of the ease with which bitcoins can be
traded without any third party - such as a bank or online payments service like
PayPal - to use it as at least one way of paying for services between
themselves. (Source
reuters.com)

Purchasing POS malware gets easier
There is a growing ease of purchasing point-of-sale (POS) malware online, as
well as an increase in the selling of stolen credit card numbers and other
personal consumer data online. These were some of the biggest findings from the
McAfee Labs Threats Report: Fourth Quarter 2013, highlighting the role of the
"dark Web" malware industry as a key enabler of the POS attacks and data
breaches in the fall of 2013. The security software vendor believes this
accelerating trend could pose a significant threat to the long-established
certificate authority (CA) model for authenticating "safe" software.
(Source
itweb.co)

"3
Innovative Changes Retail Loss Prevention
Needs To Make Right Now To Cement It’s Relevancy:
The Online Shopping Industry Is Changing Everything”

Someone said, “Change is good, but it’s greater when it’s
ahead of its time.” If my finite brain serves me well, I
would like to think that the writer of this quote meant-if
you could get out ahead of the impending change, do so.

Let me be very clear about my position here, I am still a
young lad in the world of Loss Prevention and/or Asset
Protection and I’m not smart enough to be a statistics guy
in my writings. So in this opinion, that my eyes have
allowed me to comprehend, might offend some of you due to my
lack of experience and confirmed data. But I will leave it
up to you to tell me how far out of the ballpark I am...

The world is changing as we know it, and so is everything we
are attached to. I’m not a parent, but I assumed parenting
is completely different than just a year ago due to so much
accessible parenting information via social networking,
twenty-four hour cycled content and digital integration-not
to mention the new “cloud” sharing program. Everything we
know is forced to keep up with technology or be left behind
with such extinct innovations like the walk-man, beepers,
and dial-up internet. Loss Prevention and Asset Protection
is not exempt from this change by any means.

As our senior security leaders attempt to find more ways to
cut cost, manage budgets, hire efficient people at a
competitive salary, and squeeze every dollar out of the
outdated equipment, it makes you wonder have we just reach
the point of starting all over. HUH? You can’t just start a
well-established industry all over Eric, are you crazy? From
what my eyes can see and what my brain can comprehend...WE
BETTER!

Before I lay out the three changes, I want to first say that
there are some companies who are making these changes, some
who have made these changes a long time ago, and some who
are in the thinking phase of it. I know it is hard to wrap
our minds around such a global industry being faced with
completely reinventing itself right in the middle of its
highest functioning peak. But may I suggest one direct
example of a entity that is doing this that we all should be
familiar with: the 4-wall brick and mortar store vs online E
commerce! The stores are doing it, they get it.

I’m 36 years old and from Detroit Michigan where Christmas
shopping was the best, I know I didn’t, but did anyone ever
think the day would come where online shopping would almost
replace going out in the snow during the Christmas season
into the department stores to shop? It was what people lived
for! Not any more, online, online, and more online. Just go
walk into your sales department and ask to see the numbers.

Loss Prevention and Asset Protection must open their eyes to
new innovative ways to cut expenses, streamline training,
and reinvest scarce dollars in more long-term returns. Those
long-term returns I speak of are in: quality hires,
self-application equipment, and strategic internal and
online-shopping investigations.

To be truly honest, we all should be excited, because this
will force all of us in this profession to reinvent
ourselves, our departments, our people we managed, and our
responsibilities as well. Also, it would present a charge to
companies to bring out the strong, the educated, and the
creative thinkers, to create a synergy to supplant our
industry for decades to come. However, this won’t happen if
we miss the opportunity by becoming comfortable in our
salaries and our “ten-word” titles. Retailer CEO’s are
making this E-Commerce transition and it’s either going to
be with us or without us. And let’s not kid ourselves this
change is too profitable to the company to carry slow
progressing entities with them.

So, after attempting to read everything I can get my hands
on that spells out the predicting future of Retail Loss
Prevention and Asset Protection and also paying attention in
my own short Loss Prevention career...Here’s the 3 things I
think Retail Loss Prevention and Asset Protection needs to
change right now to be relevant enough to be seriously
considered in companies’ future fiscal goals:

1) GET OUT OF THE EXTERNAL SHOPLIFTING BUSINESS- I
have two questions for us: One, how many deaths have happen
at the point of apprehension this year alone? And, secondly,
if confirmed numbers say majority of our theft,
shortage, shrink, comes from internal employees, why aren’t
we focusing majority of our attention on that? Let me first
deal with the first question. As a former Law Enforcement
officer I always thought that loss prevention was crazy and
a death wish. My colleagues and I talked about it all the
time. My thought process was that the worst face-to-face
criminal element to come up against was a person who knew
you knew that they just committed a crime. We do this daily,
hourly in some stores and nothing stands between you and
them, but a fragrance display and/or Sensormatic pedestal.
Of course this is going to end ugly at times and I am
surprise there hasn’t been more terrible tragedies. Economic
times have changed, therefore people have changed and become
more drastic and desperate. This is perpetuating a more
“take a chance, take a risk” type of mentality. Not to
mention, the liability cost of hurting them (the shoplifter)
at the point of apprehension on our part. IT’S TOO MUCH
RISK! Time to get out of the catching shoplifters business.
The second question I asked is a simple one to reason. Turn
all your detectives into internal investigative machines. We
are losing millions of dollars by the same people we are
asking to call us if they see suspicious behavior. My former
staff would always laugh at one of my favorite sayings that
I’ll interject here: “What are we doing” (I use it
when it seems the purpose is undefined or has gotten blurred
or keeps changing)? So my question to us, what are we doing?
We need to get our money and merchandise back that’s
“walking out of our doors right up under our noses” as
my former District Manager of Investigations would say. Is
there stillsomewhat a place for external shoplifting
investigations and definitely prosecutions, yes; but we need
to be realistic, it’s the internal piece that’s highly
impacting our shortage and shrink numbers at the end of the
year. And I think none of us can stand to hear of another
LP/AP detective or associate dying from apprehending someone
for a pair of ten-dollar underwear. Just too sad.

2) CREATE A (or increase your) ORC AND ONLINE-SHOPPING
INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION- Whenever you have a fiscally
colossal selling culture like online shopping it will always
bring out the fiscally colossal illegal culture as well. The
grab & runs, theft mobs, and increased major-dollar
shoplifting cases we’ve seen are not about passing out
clothing or merchandise to the needy in the neighborhood.
This is ALL about online shopping, personal online stores
and the black market. Also, the black markets in the other
continents where noted investigations have follow our
American stores’ merchandise and learned that it’s almost
bigger there than here. We also have a very growing black
market industry of “quick credit card” duplicates and “gift
card/store only” card frauds that are buying these goods as
well. If your company does not have an ORC department or
Online-Shopping Investigative Division, then your company is
just a participant this frustrating trend. You want to be
apart of the solvability side of it. This is where Loss
Prevention and Asset Protection are going. Take it or leave
it. If you leave it, you probably should shift to “Risk and
Safety” management and just prevent slip-n-falls. Maybe
that’s a little aggressive, but I think you get the gist of
what I’m implying here. And I’ll admit my bias here, as it
pertains to ORC; this is where hiring former law enforcement
will come in handy for us as a prevention and protection
industry. As for online shopping investigations I think this
opens up an entire new hiring market for technology and
forensic college grads and professionals. Yes, this
obviously will perk up the salaries for LP and AP, but I’m
going to talk about how to cover that in the next point...

3) RESTRUCTURE, REALLOCATE, and REINVEST IN A “NEW” LOSS
PREVENTION AND ASSET PROTECTION- I’m troubled about
suggesting this one, because this last and final change
requires our most dedicated people to possibly lose their
jobs: our loss prevention associates/detectives. The
restructuring phase is a difficult one to explain, so I will
try to make it simple and straight. The ever-frustrating
reality of “turnover” kills the progress of a loss
prevention department. Median pay and shorten hours (due to
budget constraints) limits continuity and consistency
amongst LP and AP staff. Restructuring with a new primary
focus such as internal investigations and by getting out of
the dangerous external shoplifting business provides leeway
to innovative changes to staff structuring in LP and AP
departments. If we are going to change how we do business
then we must identify what positions do we really need.
Let’s face it, we all have dead weight in all areas of our
departments that can stand to be trimmed for good or replace
with creative and fluid individuals. It also allows for
reallocation of salary dollars to create or enhance your ORC
and Online-Shopping Investigations departments. Now maybe
the math doesn’t add up and I am an idiot, but it’s the
realistic forward thinking that I’m suggesting here.
Restructuring our staff towards a new purpose, reallocating
resources in a new loss prevention and asset protection, and
reinvesting our dollars in smarter equipment, innovative
people, and streamlined training speaks volumes to the
retail industry that we are prepared to stay around and be
relevant for years to come...And that you will need us!

The Governor has signed Senate Bill 23 into law, and it becomes effective July
1, 2014.

The measure received overwhelming approval from the House, passing by a vote of
69 to 1. The Senate, which had earlier given the bill unanimous approval, also
signed off on a minor amendment made on the House side.

This measure was one of SDRA’s priority issues this year. The bill has two main
components: it clamps down on organized retail crime, and updates the state’s
consumer protection laws.

Organized Retail Crime
Organized retail crime (ORC) is not your garden variety theft by shoplifting,
which is bad enough. ORC involves groups of people who make a living from
stealing large quantities of items which are then sold to fences, on flea
markets, via the internet, or to other unsuspecting retailers.

Nationwide, it’s estimated that thieves involved in ORC rack up $30 billion in
thefts annually. In South Dakota, the theft rings are stealing an estimated $95
million in goods each year from South Dakota merchants. The thefts result in
increased costs for stores, which in turn means every customer pays more. The
State of South Dakota is also losing out on an estimated $3.8 million in tax
revenues every year due to ORC.

This measure:

●

defines organized retail crime

●

establishes tough penalties, fines and
restitution for people who knowingly organize, supervise, conspire,
finance, commit or assist in these crimes

●

makes it clear that it is a crime to knowingly
activate a fire exit alarm or to deactive an alarm in order to
facilitate the commission of organized retail crime

This is a good law, and SDRA was pleased to work with the Attorney General’s
office on the drafting of this measure.

Consumer Protection
The consumer protection part of SB 23 will make it easier to prosecute people
who knowingly violate the consumer protection laws. It:

●

sets up a tiered system of penalties ranging from
a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 5 felony

●

adds theft of debit cards to the current statutes
which make it a crime to steal credit cards

●

makes it clear that businesses are considered
consumers and entitled to protection

●

updates the lodging consumer protection laws

SB 23 was developed last summer and fall by a study group put together by the
Attorney General’s office. SDRA was one of 70 stakeholders participating in the
effort.

Three Ukrainian men busted hacking into PayPal, Nordstrom Bank and 12 others
trying to steal $15M Federal prosecutors on Monday announced the
indictment of three men they accuse of being members of an international
cybercrime ring that tried to steal at least $15 million by hacking into U.S.
customer accounts at 14 financial institutions and the Department of Defense's
payroll service. The men were among eight people charged, according to U.S.
Attorney Paul Fishman in New Jersey, who announced the indictments. Prosecutors
accused the men of gaining unauthorized access to networks, diverting customer
funds to bank accounts and pre-paid debit cards, employing "cashers" to make ATM
withdrawals and fraudulent purchases in Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New
York and elsewhere. (Source
msn.com)

Possible Counterfeit Merchandise Being Sold on South Florida Streets
NBC News, Team 6 Investigators followed a group of questionable Armani sellers
around Miami Beach for several days and found they all use the same tactics: the
men pretend to be foreigners asking for directions. They pull over in an SUV
near a bank or gas station while holding a map and act lost to passersby. Then,
they try to peddle what they say is designer merchandise.
(Source
nbcmiami.com)

Rack of clothing set on fire at Bay store in Nanaimo, Vancouver, Canada
Nanaimo RCMP believe a firebug may be responsible for setting a rack of clothes
on fire inside the Bay in the Woodgrove Centre on Sunday. Someone set fire to a
rack of clothes in the women’s section around 4 p.m. The fire spread to other
racks of clothes which activated the store’s sprinkler system. No one was
injured but the mall was evacuated. There was significant smoke and water damage
to parts of the store. Investigators believe the same person might be
responsible for a similar incident on Jan. 2. (Source
timescolonist.com)

Jared in Robinson Township, PA and Jared in
Bethel Park, PA reporting counterfeit Cashier’s Checks totaling over $8000
The check was from South Coast Bank and Trust. The phone number on the back is
part of the scam and goes to an accomplice of the suspect for approval. The bank
was contacted and personnel explained that this group has passed counterfeit
cashier’s checks in Amherst, NY, Pittsburgh, PA, and California.

ORC Gas theft gone bad - leaves three people badly burned in Metro Vancouver -
part of recent string of thefts Delta police are examining the remains
of a motorhome with a trap door and equipped with siphoning gear that was used
early Saturday morning in an attempt to steal hundreds of liters of gasoline
from storage tanks at a Delta service station. The botched heist is the most
recent in a spate of dangerous gasoline thefts across Metro Vancouver that
police say have become commonplace against a backdrop of high and rising gas
prices. The thieves’ cunning-but-failed scheme came to an abrupt end when an
explosion rocked the Petro Canada gas station at 10240 River Rd., at about 3
a.m., injuring two men and a woman. Delta police officer Sgt. Sarah Swallow said
the two men who were found by emergency personnel outside the motorhome are in
hospital in critical condition after suffering extensive burns. The woman fled
the scene, but was later found in New Westminster where she was treated for
injuries. Swallow said the three suspects, who have not been publicly
identified, drove the motorhome over plates that cover the in-ground fuel lines
to storage tanks located at the side of the service station. She said a trap
door in the floor of the motor home was positioned over the fill-up points, then
the thieves unscrewed a cover plate so they could pump gas out of a tank into a
large plastic storage tank inside the motor home. The trio were in the process
of removing gasoline when the fuel ignited, causing the explosion. Swallow said
the suspects were known to police for stealing gasoline. The method may signal a
departure from a previous pattern that had thieves using stolen credit cards to
fill up custom-built tanks in vans capable of holding up to 1,000 liters — often
going to a number of different service stations to avoid detection.
(Source
vancouversun.com)

Master key gave 3 burglary suspects access to Walmart stores across Florida’s
Treasure Coast On March 15, 2014, at 2:45 am, Stuart Police received a
call from Walmart security reporting a theft. Upon arrival, Officers observed a
male running in the parking lot while being chased by store security personnel.
Stuart Police k-9 Officer Cody was deployed and apprehended one suspect with
over $1300.00 worth of I Phone cases. Also discovered was an anti-shoplifting
device removal tool in his pockets, along with unused Walmart plastic bags.
Security camera footage showed that 3 suspects entered the store. When officers
located the vehicle the three men traveled in, they discovered a set of keys
next to the vehicle. One of the keys was a master lock for secure areas of all
Walmart stores. The three are also suspects in Walmart thefts throughout the
Treasure Coast. (Source
nixle.com)

Police
in Wisconsin make bust in television-for-heroin theft ring Mukwonago
police said a crime spree involving televisions was fueling a heroin habit.
Officer Chris DeMotto said the department was called to the same Walmart twice
in three days for nearly identical thefts. "He would talk on his cellphone,
select some items from the electronics department -- in this case a TV the first
time, two TVs the second time -- and go out an emergency exit," he said.
Pewaukee police helped put the pieces together and arrested the accused
ringleader, 23-year-old Ricardo Ocanas of Milwaukee. "We found out the items
were being sold or traded for heroin," DeMotto said. At least eight communities
including Greenfield, Fond du Lac, New Berlin, Burlington, Muskego, Pewaukee,
Hartford and Milwaukee were involved in this robbery ring.
(Source
wisn.com)

How to Get Your Employees to Trust You Trust is a key ingredient for
the recipe of success. Before they will go along with what you say, whether good
or bad, they need to know that you will stand up for them and create a sense of
security in the workplace. Follow these tips to become a selfless, trusted
leader. (Serve
your employees)

4 Behaviors You Never Want to See in a Leader Certainly, there are so
many things that leaders or managers should do; they should be encouraging, yet
assertive, enforce positive behavior, yet be diligent. The list could go on and
on, so maybe it's easier if we narrow that list down to what leaders SHOULDN'T
do! These behaviors won't get you anywhere as a leader! (Are
you authentic?)

Energy is the primary force behind success and without it
mediocrity or failure is almost guaranteed. The ability to move things forward
and influence change requires energy and there's a direct correlation to the
amount of it and to the degree of success. It's great to start off energized and
gung ho about a project or initiative, but it's critical to maintain the energy
thru to completion. As one senior executive has said, "there's no bad plan --
it's always a matter of execution" and execution is all about energy. So when
you think you've lost your energy, take a break, do something different, and
give your mind a chance to re-energize. Because the worst thing you can do is to
try to execute without it.